This past school year, there has been a boom in films all across the East Coast, but more specifically the tri-state area. William Paterson University has bare witness to these shoots, as actor Jamie Foxx filmed a Netflix special, followed by a recent shooting of another upcoming film about an iconic women’s soccer team. Here is why there has been a sudden rise in film production.

It all starts with Netflix, their massive push into New Jersey is a calculated combination of aggressive state financial incentives and the construction of their new East Coast flagship mega studio. The major moving pieces that are making this possible are the official “Studio Partner” status and massive tax credits, Netflix’s new studio, and the ripple effect it causes across the state.

New Jersey offers one of the most competitive film incentive programs in the country, but they created a specific tier that practically has Netflix’s name written on it. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority designated Netflix as an official Studio Partner. This exclusive status unlocks massive perks under the state’s Film and Digital Media Tax Credit program:

• The 40% Base Tax Credit: For every dollar Netflix spends locally on “qualified production expenses,” which includes hiring local crews, renting equipment, buying props, and building sets, the state gives them 40 cents back in transferable tax credits. This allows major productions to effectively shoot content at a massive discount
• The Above the Line Incentive Pool: Studio partners get access to a special $150 million pool of incentives, allowing them to capture additional above the line salaries, like big name actor and director wages, that normal productions can’t always easily write off.

The studio is building a premier $1.2 billion, 292 acre, state of the art production campus at the former Fort Monmouth military base. The project includes plans for 12 massive soundstages, production offices, mill buildings for set construction, and a backlot. To bridge financing gaps for construction, the state awarded Netflix an additional $387 million in Aspire tax credits, a place based economic development program.

To make local operations smoother, Netflix worked out custom agreements with local municipalities by entering into PILOT, Payment in Lieu of Taxes, programs. These agreements secured tens of millions of dollars in upfront payouts and guaranteed annual revenue over the next 30 years. This is a massive win for local residents, as the host towns can use these massive cash injections to repair aging roads, fund public parks, and upgrade municipal infrastructure without ever raising property taxes on neighborhood homeowners.

While the Fort Monmouth hub is technically in Monmouth County, its gravity is pulling an immense amount of production into North Jersey as well. New Jersey’s film tax credit requires that a high percentage of production goods and services come from authorized in-state vendors. New Jersey law mandates that at least 60% of the production’s total expenses must go to vendors authorized to do business within New Jersey. This forces Netflix to spend millions on local lumber yards, catering companies, hardware stores, dry cleaners, equipment rental houses, and security firms.

Because North Jersey is right across the river from New York City’s existing pool of union crew members, equipment rental houses, and creative talent, it serves as the perfect operational bridge. Furthermore, Netflix isn’t the only giant in town. The state’s aggressive tax credits have turned the whole region into a production gold rush. For example, 1888 Studios in Bayonne, Hudson County, was also approved for $400 million in Aspire tax credits to build a massive campus style studio space just minutes from Manhattan.

Why New Jersey Wins:

The state views this as a high yield investment. Rather than looking at the tax revenue they are “giving up,” New Jersey is focusing on the multibillion dollar economic ecosystem Netflix is forced to build inside the state to get those credits. The state’s massive bet on Netflix and “Hollywood East” delivers returns across several key areas:

• Economic Impact: The state estimates the total economic impact of the Fort Monmouth project alone will pump between $3.8 billion and $4.6 billion into the New Jersey economy through ongoing corporate spending.
• Job Creation: The state is leveraging the project to create thousands of jobs, divided into two major phases. In the short term, the construction of the massive 1 million square foot campus creates roughly 3,500 union construction jobs. In the long term, once operational, the studio is projected to support roughly 1,400 to 1,500 permanent, high paying jobs ranging from studio executives, marketing, and accounting to sound engineers, set designers, and local background actors.
• Revitalizing Blighted Property: When the United States Army permanently closed the Fort Monmouth military base, it left a massive, 292 acre economic vacuum in the heart of Monmouth County. It sat vacant for years, draining local economic energy. By turning it into a commercial tech and entertainment hub, the state successfully revitalized a massive piece of blighted real estate without having to fund the redevelopment out of taxpayer pockets.

Even though the state gives a break on the corporate side, it collects revenue on the back end through income and sales tax. When thousands of crew members, actors, and executives are living, eating, renting apartments, and working in New Jersey for months at a time, they spend their money locally. Furthermore, recent updates to New Jersey’s film laws specifically incentivize hiring local talent and digital media creators, building a self-sustaining workforce right in the state’s backyard.

Ultimately, the state is trading a percentage of future tax revenue it wouldn’t have had anyway for guaranteed, immediate billions in private investment, infrastructure upgrades, and local jobs.